The Director’s Desk

From the Director's Desk
MIT Startups – The Road Ahead
“How many startups have we registered?”
That’s a question I’m asked often. But counting startups is like counting mangoes in a new plantation. The real question is whether the soil is healthy, the saplings are cared for, and the environment is right for growth.
At AIIC, we’re not chasing numbers. We’re building founders — and that takes time, trust, and the right conditions.
The biggest barrier today is the traditional mindset. Most students still see jobs as the natural next step after graduation. Parents, shaped by their own employment journeys, often fear the risks of entrepreneurship. Even within academic world, exposure to real business thinking gets sidelined in favor of technical content.

At AIIC, our work flows in two parallel directions.
First, direct engagement with student-founders — helping them understand markets, refine products, find mentors and investors, and access funding and government grants. We also run short, practical learning modules and offer guided project opportunities to build execution confidence.
Second, building the larger environment — connecting departments, involving faculty, creating exposure visits, and keeping the campus conversation alive around innovation and entrepreneurship. This “thought environment” is what slowly changes culture.
Both fronts reinforce each other. A single successful founder story inspires ten more to try.
Startup incubation looks like a group activity, but it always begins as a personal decision — one student choosing to take initiative or one teacher going out of the way to support curious students. Our job at AIIC is to make that choice easier, more supported, and better understood.

Atul Kherde

Director – AIIC